Our #1 - 6 Visitors

March was indeed a great month... we had some close friends from SD visit us here in Japan on two separate occasions. Even though Bern and I have been away now for over a year, it's really nice to know that we can just pick up right where we started off with these people; a true sign of friendship in my book! We had so much fun showing them around Japan while experiencing some new things of our own. Here are a few highlights...

Our first visitors were Jerry and Grace. Took them to the Great Buddha in Kamakura:

Yokohama's Chinatown:

Because they were able to stay with us for two weeks, we managed to schedule a couple of excursions through the MWR (Military acronym for Morale, Welfare, & Recreation). Our first trip was to Kairakuen in the Ibaraki Prefecture. It's recognized as one of the three most beautiful gardens in Japan with over 3,000 plum and sakura trees. Kairakuen even had a huge bamboo forest towards the back of the garden that we were able to walk through. Afterwards, the tour bus took us to Mashiko, an area in Japan famous for their pottery and this huge ceramic "tanuki" which is mix between a raccoon and a dog. The tanuki represent fortune and prosperity in Japanese folklore.      

The latter part of our trip took us to Chiyoda fruit farms where we were able to eat as many strawberries as we could in 30 minutes. These strawberries were harvested using no chemical substances which made them safe to eat right off the vines; soooooo good!

Our second excursion was the following day in Tokyo for Anime Fest 2015. Anime (animation) & Manga (comic books & graphic novels) of course are very popular here with fans of all ages so this three day convention was all about showing off the new material for 2015 and beyond; very similar to Comic Con. Even though Bern and I aren't really into anime, it was cool just to experience this yearly event.   

Because Tokyo is about an hour and a half train ride from Yokosuka, we thought it would be easier just to stay in the Tokyo area for a few days at the military hotel New Sanno. While in Tokyo, we of course checked out Akihabara since Jerry is into anime but the area is also well known for their maid cafes. These restaurants have girls dressed up in maid costumes serving up a variety of cutesy themed menu items. Halfway through our meal, they turned down the lights and started to sign and dance on stage...hilarious! They try to get the crowd into it by having everyone wear cat ears and yell out "meow-meow" which was uncomfortable for me but somehow Jerry seemed to love it! haha 

  
We even got the opportunity to visit the inner grounds of the Imperial Palace, where the Emperor of Japan lives. The tour only consisted of a few key spots like the official welcoming area for foreign dignitary and the porch where the Emperor comes out to greet the public on New Years Day; but it would have been nice to actually see the palace itself.

A new part of Tokyo Bern and I have never been to before was Ueno Park; it had a man-made lake in the middle of the Park and plenty of stores and restaurants nearby:

Speaking of food & drinks, Jerry and Grace got to experience some popular Japanese cuisines like ramen, yakiniku, shabu-shabu, CoCo House curry, yakitori, and sushi. But without a doubt the best part was all the Sake & Chu-Hi's! (Strongs & Bitterrrrrrrr's)       

The two weeks Jerry and Grace were here was perfect because it gave us just the right amount of time to explore Japan without having to feel rushed. During which we still had some crazy adventures which is why we were sad to see them leave. But just two days later, we welcomed our second set of visitors: Efren, Patricia, Chris, and Mike. Now even though they were here for vacation, there was another special reason for their trip...Efren was planning to propose to Patricia in front of Mt. Fuji. Back in February, I wrote that Bern and I took a day trip to the Lake Kawaguchiko area. The main purpose of that adventure was to do some recon for Efren so he could determine the best place to pop the question. He decided that the view of Mt. Fuji from the Arakura Fuji Sengen Shrine & Pagoda was the perfect spot. So literally a day after Efren and Patricia's arrival, we met up with Chris and Mike who got into Tokyo a few days earlier, boarded a bus in Yokohama and headed towards Lake Kawaguichiko.

Needless to say Patricia was really surprised when Efren popped the question. We were so happy that we got to witness the proposal and managed to buy some sake at the Lake Kawaguicho station earlier that day to help celebrate this joyous occasion! Congratulations again!   

  

Efren obviously wanted to make this day special so he even reserved a suite for him and his new fiancée at the Kakuna no Taze Hotel on the edge of the lake for one night. The suite came with a private spa on their balcony overlooking Mt. Fuji.... a perfect way to end the day!

The following day Bern, Chris, Mike and I met up with the two lovebirds at the Yokosuka train station and ate dinner. After our meal, I had my first karaoke experience in Japan.

Yokohama was next on the itinerary with a visit to Chinatown where the guys got to do something really unique to this area, have little fish eat the dead skin cells off our feet. We all kept laughing because it was so ticklish having these fish between our toes, but at the end of the session our feet did feel a bit smoother.    

  



 Getting around on trains was sometimes very crowded...

and sometimes very empty...

But nonetheless we made the most of it and still managed to see some really cool spots, like Naka Meguro for the cherry blossom night festival:

Shinjuku for the Robot Restaurant; think Medieval Times meets Terminator at a rave:

 

Shibuya & Akihabara for Efren's love of anime:

And with any trip of course is the food; everything from delicious tonkatsu, okonomiyaki, tempura, sushi, kit-kat sandwiches, and even homemade spam-musubi's: 

But Efren loved Pepper Steak the most which is why we had to have it twice!

There is a saying that goes "Treat your FAMILY like friends and your FRIENDS like family" and knowing these guys for over 20 years now certainly lives up to this adage. Japan is on the other side of the ocean so for all of them to take the trip out here means a lot to both Bern and myself. It's not good times, it's always Great Times with these people!

We are so thankful we got to see them and hopefully this opens the door for more visitors to this great country...HINT HINT! THIS MEANS YOU! haha 

On the horizon, we look forward to having Bern's sister Beverly in June, the whole Matsunaga clan in September, and Bern's mom next March. Can't wait! 

Hawaiian Get-A-Way

Aloha everyone, I must apologize for not doing a better job keeping up with my blog. Ever since February, Bern and I have been blessed with the opportunity to see some close friends both here in Japan and abroad. But before I get to that, let me just say Thank You for your continued support. I can't believe it's been a year now since we've been here. It feels like we've only begun to scratch the surface of the Japanese culture and hopefully you'll stick around for two more years as Bern and I continue this amazing journey.

So back in February, we decided to meet with some of our dear friends (The Bayona's, The Park's, Christine & Allan) on the Big Island of Hawaii. Right when we got off the plane at the Kona airport, the warmth from that Hawaiian sun was just amazing. Bern and I were still dressed in our winter clothing so we immediately took off some layers and slipped on our flip-flops as we started our week-long stay in paradise.

 



Being back on U.S. soil was a relief to say the least; the simple fact of being able to communicate to people and understand my surroundings was so comforting. Now it also meant getting used to certain things that I forgot we Americans do - like driving on the right side of the road or even tipping after meals; but it only took me a day or so to get re-acclimated to those minor changes.

For accommodations since there were 11 people total on this trip (including 3 kids), we all unanimously decided to rent out a huge house rather than staying at a hotel. But our reservation had to start the day after we all arrived so the owners of the time share put us up at the Royal Kona Resort for one night. Since Bern and I were the first ones to arrive and had some time to kill, what's the FIRST thing Bern wants to do? Shop at Ross, Target, and Macy's! Who am I to stand in her way? So of course we went to local mall (which she had already mapped out a week prior) and by the time she was done, it was time to check in to the Royal Kona. It was a simple but elegant Polynesian-themed hotel with a balcony in each room that overlooked the beach, so nice!

 

       

Christine and Allan were the next ones to arrive so by this time, it was Happy Hour and we all decided to get something to eat and drink as we watched the sunset over the horizon. What's unique about the sunsets here in the Big Island is that right before the sun goes down, for a quick half-second, there's a green flash that goes off which is something we've never seen before. I was unable to actually catch it on camera, but here's that beautiful scene:

Shortly after happy hour ended, The Bayona's (Vince, Kim & Jacob) and The Park's (Charles, Liza, Charlie & Nico) arrived, so now we were all together at last on this Hawaiian adventure.

The following day after breakfast, we headed to Costco to pick up a week's worth of groceries before checking into our rental house. And man was this house awesome!! The middle portion of the house was the kitchen, living/dining room, media room, two bathrooms, laundry room, and a covered lanai with a pool, hot tub & BBQ. On both sides were two separate bungalows each with a king sized bed, sitting area, & private bathroom...this house was perfect for four families!

Kona is on the western side of the island, and when you think of Kona you automatically think of coffee. Luckily, there are plenty of coffee farms in the area offering free tours (along with free coffee too! haha) so we went around the Greenwell Coffee Farm.

 

No Hawaiian vacation would be complete without a few days maxing and relaxing on the beach...

 

 

 

as well as checking out all the life that's under the sea...

 

 

The Big Island is so unique due to all the volcanic activity that is still changing the landscape today. Many parts of the island are covered with hardened lava rock that make it seem like you're on another planet. We were hoping to see some of the lava flow in action at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park but unfortunately there was no volcanic activity at the time. But we did go through an old lava tube, drive up to Kilauea's crater rim and see its active steam vent, and experience up close what one of these steam vents is like...

 

 

 

One of the items on my personal "things to do list" was to visit the Kona Brewing Company; home of my favorite beer, The Kona Longboard Lager. In addition to their fine selection of craft brews, they have an extensive food menu- so we all ate there for dinner one evening.

 

 

 

Eating is just one big aspect of any vacation and we definitely got our grub on during this trip. Aside from the fresh Hawaiian Poke and plate lunches, we managed to squeeze in a few home-cooked meals that included steaks, lobsters, & chicken. Charles was our head BBQ grill master, with all of us pitching in whenever we could. Being that we were one year removed from San Diego, Bern and I also had our fair share of Jack 'n the Box as well as Panda Express. Kim and Vince were even nice enough to bring over some carne asada burritos which was probably the best thing we ate in Hawaii! haha 

 

 

We even got to celebrate Vince's birthday with some cupcakes that Kim and Christine found at a local bakery.

 

   

Vacations are funny. They can't seem to come fast enough and once it's here, it's done before you know it...and that's exactly how this week long Hawaiian vacation came to be. We were so thrilled to get to spend some time with our close friends we haven't seen in a year. Especially with the boys since they're growing up so fast!

 

 

We all hope to do this again soon! Miss you all and thanks for everything!

 

 

 

But wait, there's more!!!! So Bern arranged to have us spend one day together in Oahu before leaving back to Japan. There were a couple of things she needed to cross off her list that she never got to do the last time she was there back in 2001.

 

The first was to climb to the very top of Diamond Head.  The last time she was there, she didn't climb the last few steps up the ladder that is officially the very top ...

 

 

Second was the Dole Plantation...

 

 

And lastly we both wanted to try some local eateries:

 

 

We managed to do all this in a 24 hour period. The hotel we stayed at was a small boutique hotel which was literally five minutes away from Waikiki beach. What really attracted Bern to book this hotel was a chair in their guest rooms that reminded her of the early 90's TV show "Out of this World".

 

 

The only bad part of this entire trip had to happen of course on our last night in Hawaii. The parking garage of this hotel was really small, so the stalls were tight and very cramped. When we returned the rental car, the attendant noticed that the front left bumper had been scratched. I was unaware of the incident and assumed it happened at the hotel parking lot. No problem, we got insurance on the car...wrong. The insurance Bern purchased was online through a third party insurance company. Luckily I was able to take care of everything despite living abroad. But the moral of the story is to make sure you get rental insurance directly through the car rental company to avoid any uneeded hassles.

 

Anyhow, this Hawaiian get-a-way was just what the doctor ordered...Family, Friends, Food & Sunshine! We feel very blessed to have friends that we consider Ohana!  Mahalo!